Wahb said: When he stood at the king’s gate, he said, “My Lord is sufficient for me against the concerns of this world, and my Lord is sufficient for me against His creation. Mighty is He whose protection is sought, exalted is His praise, and there is no god but Him.” Then he entered the palace, and when he came before the king, he said, “O Allah, I ask You, by Your goodness, for the good that is with him, and I seek refuge in You from his evil and the evil of others.”
When the king looked at him, Joseph greeted him in Arabic. The king asked, “What language is this?” He replied, “It is the language of my uncle Ishmael.” Then he invoked a blessing upon him in Hebrew, and the king asked, “What language is this?” He replied, “This is the language of my forefathers.” The king did not know either of these languages.
Wahb said: The king spoke seventy languages, and whenever he spoke in a language, Joseph answered him in that same language, in addition to Arabic and Hebrew. The king was amazed by what he saw in him (1), despite his youth. Joseph was then thirty years old. So he seated him and said, “Indeed, today you hold an established position and are trusted in our presence”—that is, a position of high standing (2)—“trustworthy,” meaning truthful.
It is related that the king said to him, “I would like to hear my dream directly from your lips.”
Joseph said, “Yes, O King. You saw seven fat, ash-coloured, bright, beautiful cows, which the Nile uncovered for you. They came up to you from its bank, their udders streaming with milk. As you looked at them and were impressed by their beauty, the Nile dried up, its water disappeared, and its dryness became visible. Then seven lean, dishevelled, dust-coloured cows emerged from its mud, with shrunken bellies [having neither udders nor teats] (3). They had fangs, molars, and paws like the paws of dogs, and snouts like the snouts of beasts of prey. They tore apart the fat cows as a predator tears apart its prey: they ate their flesh, ripped their skins, crushed their bones, and sucked out their marrow.
“Then, as you looked on and wondered, 183/b there appeared seven green ears of grain and seven others that were black, growing from the same place [their roots being in the soil and water. As you said to yourself, ‘How can this be? These are green and fruitful, while those are black and dry, though they grow from the same place and their roots are in the water’] (4). Then a wind blew, scattering the leaves from the dry black ones onto the green, fruitful ones. A fire caught among them, and they burned until they became black. This is what you saw; then you awoke from your sleep in fright.”
The king said, “By Allah, remarkable as this dream may be, it is no more remarkable than what I have heard from you. So what do you think concerning my dream, O truthful one?”
Joseph, peace be upon him, said, “I think that you should gather food and cultivate abundant crops during these fertile years. Store the food in granaries with its stalks and ears, so that the stalks and ears may serve as fodder for the animals. Order the people to set aside one-fifth of their food. Then the food you gather will suffice for the people of Egypt and those around it. People will come to you from every region seeking provisions, and such treasures will be amassed with you as had never been amassed for anyone before you.”